Is Zoom App Safe for Your Business?

Are you sure that your data is safe on the online-virtual meeting platforms you are using during this lockdown?

 If yes, then why this e-reality application may get banned by the Supreme Court? 

So today we’ll talk about the main issues with such apps and some substitutes to them.

What is the Zoom app and how does it help?

Here, we are talking about no other app but Zoom. It is an audio-video conferencing app which can be operated on smartphones, tablet, laptops, and computers.

 It is suitable for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS as well. Zoom can have up to 100 users in a meeting for a time period of 40 minutes for free. 

• The app is owned by a US-headquartered company, Zoom Video Communications. The Founder and CEO of the company is a Chinese-American man named Eric Yuan.

People are using this platform to work from home or attend online classes during the lockdown. 

 There has been a drastic growth in the users of this application during this pandemic. The number of people operating Zoom across the world has considerably increased from 10 million to 200 million in just 3 months i.e. from December 2019 to March 2020.

What’s the problem with this system despite its uses?

or the last couple of months, a significant number of people have been using this platform to connect and communicate with their school, colleges, friends, family, and to #workfromhome. But several complaints have been registered and filed against this app, claiming that it’s not safe, secure, and protected.

The petition filed by a Delhi resident said that the app made users vulnerable and prone to cyber threats. 

It also said that Zoom practices data hoarding. These video meet apps can easily be hacked into and confidential information of the users can be stolen.

 It is reported that the privacy and security of the application are poor and faulty which makes its usage risky. It is reported that the software has a bug that deliberately leaks data and information to users of third parties without consulting with the first party.

 Also, the fact that Zoom sends data of its users to Facebook to get target advertisements without permission of the users and without them knowing has come to light.

The Founder of the company, Eric Yuan has also accepted the fact about bugs being present in the application and apologized in a blog post. “We recognize that we have fallen short of the community’s – and our own – privacy and security expectations,” he stated in the post.

Do you still think that the digital platform is sound and risk-free?

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued an advisory that stated that the platform is unsafe for official usage. Later in April, Cyber Coordination (CyCord) of Home Affairs cautioned against the negative aspects of this application and requested government officials not to use it.

Companies like Tesla, Apple, NASA and Google have warned and urged their employees not to use Zoom because of its faulty programming. While in countries like Germany and Taiwan, the usage of the digital platform has already been banned by the government.

The Supreme Court asked the Indian Government to respond to the petition against Zoom app. The Court said that the government should file a reply in 4 weeks.

While we wait for the official word by the government on Zoom, we can always shift to other apps and stop using Zoom.

What Alternatives are available for us?

Some of the substitutes of Zoom can be: 

• Microsoft Teams, 
• Discord, 
• Google Duo,
•  Facetime,
•  Skype, 
• WebEx, 
• Google Hangouts Meet and many more. 

If you know any other virtual calling platforms, you can drop them in the comments.

Will you continue using the Zoom app? 

Think wisely!

For any queries or suggestions or queries contact Dynamisers Solutions,